Georgia in Eurovision Song Contest Odds

The banf Iraio was selected by Georgian national broadcaster via an internal selection in order to fly the Georgian flag at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon with their entry “For you”. The name “Iriao” is derived from the Georgian phrase “Iriao-uruao”, which is used in the yodelling singing style “Krimanchuli”. This isn’t the first time Georgia has send a jazz group to Eurovision. In 2014, the jazz fusion group The Shin performed “Three Minutes to Earth” along with the jazz singer Mariko Ebralidze. They placed last in their semi-final, with only 15 points.

The artist announcement from Georgia comes as a bit of a surprise. Many fans had assumed the country would host another national final. Even Junior Eurovision 2017 co-host Helen Kalandadze was planning on entering.

The no-frills internal selection comes as a stark contrast to last year’s extravagant national final. Twenty-five acts competed at the event, which was seen as an audition of sorts for the role of hosting Junior Eurovision 2017.

Iraio was formed in in 2013 and was created by David Malazonia, songwriter with extensive professional experience in the music industry. He was accompanied by Nugzar Kavtaradze, Levan Abshilava, Shalva Gelekva, George Abashidze, Mikheil Javakhishvili and Bidzina Murgulia. Iriao has cut their numbers for Eurovision from seven to five! The band currently has five members: Levan Abshilava (drums, percussion), Shalva Gelekva (bass), George Abashidze (vocals), Mikheil Javakhishvili (vocals) and Bidzina Murgulia (vocals).

The band define their musical style as ethno-jazz and their unique repertoire joins the Georgian Polyphonic singing – recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO – to jazz. In recent years, the band has performed at numerous music festivals all over the world.

“For You" is entirely in Georgian, in contrast to the last rumors that wanted an Anglo-Georgian version. The style mixes the traditional with the epic, for a meeting of the two genres that works very well in this case.

The music video was shot in Saguramo, a scenic location north-west of Tbilisi. Zaza Orashvili — the man behind Junior Eurovision 2017’s postcards — directed the music video for the Georgian entry. He will direct their Eurovision stage show as well. Production Designer is Shako Popiashvili and Megi Gabunia created five different costumes for the video. Finally, dancers of the ensemble “Erisioni” are involved in the music video.

The song is composed by Davit Malazonia, with the arrangement credited to Mikheil Mdinaradze. Irina Sanikidze penned the track’s lyrics.

IRIAO's debut performance took place in June 2013 in Tbilisi and received deserved recognition of the audience and mass media. IRIAO plans to actively promote its performance and conduct concerts around Georgia and abroad. Over the years Iriao has been invited in a number of important musical festivals around the globe. The band has performed at the Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia, Borneo Jazz Festival in Malaysia, Alfa Jazz Festival in Ukraine and other festivals in Austria, Poland and Baltics.

Georgia will be hoping that Iriao will be be able to return them to the Eurovision final, after Tamara Gachechiladze’s fiery performance of “Keep The Faith” ultimately stalled in the semi-final in Kyiv.

Odds on Eurovision Song Contest 2018: Will Georgia qualify for the final?